The Alice Games
by Magic After Midnight
Summary: Alice, Elsie, and Edith have been lured into The Alice Games, with no choice but to play if they wish to leave Wonderland. But as the game is the manipulation of others' feelings, with death threatened constantly, loyalty and friendships are questioned
1. Apathy

_I dreamt that night of darkness _

_I dreamt that night of pain _

_I dreamt that night of horrors _

_Whistling pleasantly as they came _

_I dreamt that night such tragedies _

_But none did wet my eye _

_I felt no fearful feeling for _

_None of these were mine_


	2. Down the Warp Hole

Alice, who's lap was currently being occupied by Elsie's resting head as it made _such_ a pleasant pillow, contemplated upon whether or not the pleasure of making a daisy-chain was well worth the effort of forcing her lethargic companion _off_, who complained frequently the hot sun and open air made her feel very lazy and stupid. Upon finding it not so, she instead attempted a glance or two at the novel currently claiming the attention of Edith only to recall it held little dialogue and no pictures. Alice, an avid reader of manga, thought to herself what the purpose of reading a book could be with so few conversations and no pictures?

As this thought ran across her mind, a white rabbit raced across her vision. Now as the three were presently lounging leisurely on a grassy knoll and basking in repose within the shade of the principal grand oak of the park, there was nothing so very odd in this. The rabbit having made use only of his hind legs -being perfectly upright- however, and his being dressed very fashionably in human attire _did_ arouse some interest in the matter.

Elsie jolted upright and even Edith had placed her beloved book aside.

A quick glance between the six curious eyes only served to confirm each's intention. In but half a moment, they were all up and after the strange little creature that had passed them by, novel, nap, and daisy-chain all now quite forgotten.

Luckily, the three young ladies were quick on their feet, or at the very least when the situation most counted. So as the handsomely dressed creature visibly disappeared into the earth, the girls were not long across the field after it. They were very quick to start but too slow to stop. Before they really knew what had become of them, Alice, Edith, and Elsie went plummeting down after it.

The rabbit hole was very dark and extremely deep. What's more, it was terribly frigid in the tunnel and a long fall, as the drop was very steep. The girls fell very quickly, and, as the three were all attired in dresses, it was an exceedingly uncomfortable fall. The rush of the wind sent their skirts all up in a flutter.

Alice, having the longest of the troupe, couldn't make out a thing as her brilliant red locks were worked up to quite a fit. They seemed to blow everywhere but out of her face. Edith made out a little better, having recently trimmed her dark brown with an unnatural purple tint, but Elsie's by far was the most convenient as her auburn tresses were by far the shortest.

So as she fell, Elsie distinguished quite a number of nasty things adorning the walls of the tunnel, none of which she's ever deigned to delineate aside from the simple remark: "So horrid!" Eventually, though, her curiosity mastered her courage and forced her to open one of the cabinets and quickly snatch a manga from one of the shelves as she rapidly fell passed it. The cover appeared quite promising, having a lovely picture of a jar with the title as the label reading: **オレンジのママレード****·****ボーイ**. Understandably, it was quite disappointing to find that all the pages within were blank. Especially as she had thought to have found good reading material for the remainder of the fall to distract her from the horrors upon the walls, as _she_ was not blessed with the proper hair to shield her view.

Imagining that perhaps if she were to simply let it drop from this height it may fall upon some unfortunate person's head below, that was precisely what she did. Before you judge her, think of the temper you'd yourself be in if you were to be falling down a creepy tunnel with nothing to relieve your fear and boredom. But like all things, the tunnel did not last forever.

Fortunately, Elsie landed first on the hard tile flooring and everyone else landed somewhat more comfortably upon Elsie.


	3. Welcome to Wonderland

Edith was the first to climb off their companion. Alice struggled a little bit longer as Elsie, who was quite ready to be out of her uncomfortable position as floor pillow, kept squirming and fussing and got the two of them in ever so much more of a tangle that only the patient and clever Edith could put to rights.

The three lovely ladies at last all stood up, adjusting their dresses and fixing their hair. Edith's ringlets were all in a fuss, Alice's petticoat had gotten so wrong it was difficult to discern how one was to put it right, and Elsie, who was always found in a disheveled state in some manner or another, actually managed to look quaint with her short hair sticking up in a strange state of disarray and her dress some how higher up on one leg than the other. Alice put her back to proper anyway and regretted it instantly.

Now that they had all fixed themselves, the friends ventured a glance about them. They were in a low, wide, dim lit hall that seemed to go on for a good length of ways before eventually leading to some sort of brightly lit room. The floor was tiled with interchanging black and white marble squares, much like that of an expensive chess board, which explained the slight bruising Elsie had procured during the landing. Peering above them merely resulted in complete and utter darkness, holding no hint that they had perhaps had fallen down from somewhere up there at all.

Without any indication of another passage, the girls plucked up their courage and strolled down the long hallway, arm in arm. The path they took was a slow one as the stretch of hall appeared to lengthen and the bright light beyond become more distant with each step towards it. As this improbability unnerved them, Edith began noting how the dim lighting of the hall would be put out right as they would pass under it and those waiting still just before lacking any clear, perceived source; the only light was always just one more step in front of them, and if they were to turn back they would be forced to do so in the impenetrable dark. This was a frightening thought.

After quite a bit of time passed in this manner, at last they entered into that brightly lit room, and as they did were so dazzled by the strength of the light. The room had a great, high ceiling, was very wide, and went round in a beautiful circle. In the precise center of the room was a glimmering clear-glass table standing on three legs and holding a skeleton key, a book, and a few sheets of parchment. Intriguingly enough, the majority of the room's wall were made up of doors of all sorts. Some were tall and grand— mahogany with a polished silver handle—while others were rotting, splintering bits of wood that appeared as though one slight touch would shatter it. Still others were irons or metals like the entrance to some medieval torture room. Some were arched, other's rectangular. A few doors were square or round, and all doors were of different heights, colours, and appeared to have some lock or another.

Alice took a good look about the room before stating rather quizzically, "Curious."

"What is?" Edith asked.

"I don't see him," Alice continued, eyes still wandering. "He must of slipped through one of the doors, only I can't tell which."

Elsie stared. "Who?"

"The peculiar white rabbit. You know, the one we chased down here."

The two other girls looked surprised at one another then incredulous towards Alice. Edith raised an eyebrow while Elsie shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about. I followed a cuddly kitten, with orange stripes."

Alice and Elsie exchanged glances then looked towards Edith, who appeared to be blushing somewhat. "I chased a hot Asian guy." After an awkward , incredulous, dumbfounded, and apparently a highly articulate silence, Edith quietly defended, "He had a really nice tophat."

Alice and Elsie nodded as though that silly, inconsequential detail settled everything. Edith—the mature, mild, motherly Edith—had a rather romantic turn of mine and seductive turn of mouth. Her reasons therefore were sufficient.

*to be completed; just proof it hasn't been completely thrown off*


End file.
